Together We Are More
by Sir Perfluous
Summary: The battle with Rita may have been over, but the ghosts of Kimberly's past remained. Jason knew he needed to help her overcome them... as a friend, as a Ranger, and possibly something more. [2017 Movie Continuity]
1. Crash and Burn

**Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers, but it's times like this that I wish I did.**

* * *

The coach's whistle blew as the last of the runners crossed the finish line and gym class ended for the day. As the students made their way off the track which circled the school's football field, Jason Scott took a moment to pause and look wistfully at the work being done of the grass. For a moment, he missed the feeling of playing football there. He missed the feel of the grass under his cleats, the sounds of players' pads and helmets colliding, and the thrill of the game itself. Most of all, he missed the sounds of the cheering crowds when the team scored and won their games... but now all that was over.

To think, it hadn't been that long ago that he was once riding a wave of glory... until he screwed up. Now whenever he walked in the stadium or passed by a trophy case in the school, he couldn't help but feel that he was being mocked and reminded of that humiliating failure. He had once been a great hero of Angel Grove High, one who everybody's hopes and dreams of a conference championship was riding on, but no longer. He had been reckless. He let his own hubris get the better of him, and now he was paying for it. But maybe in a way it was better that things had turned out the way that they did.

Had he not screwed up, Jason wouldn't have fallen in with a new group of people. Sure the five of them may have been a bit of an unlikely group of misfit friends, but all that didn't seem to matter so much anymore. Although he was no longer a hero to Angel Grove on the football field, Jason Scott had found that he was slowly becoming a different sort of hero by being a part of something much greater than himself. He was now part of a real team who did great things. He was a Power Ranger.

Despite the bright golden glow of the late afternoon sun, a cool autumn breeze blew and nipped at his skin, bringing him back from his idle thoughts. After the ordeal of having become a Ranger and fighting off the threat of the space witch Rita, there were times Jason would still wonder about the malevolent "Others" that the witch had mentioned. Who were they? When would they come? Would they even come and would the Rangers be ready to face them?

As the new leader of these Rangers, Jason couldn't help but feel that things around here were no longer the same. He could no longer go back to being just a normal high school junior and the only other people who would remotely understand that were his fellow Rangers. But just because things were different now and expectations of him had changed, it didn't mean that he still couldn't try starting over and finding a new path in his high school life. If looking at this football field was any indication, it served as a harsh reminder to him that he needed to... for his own good.

After Jason walked out of the stadium and back into the locker rooms, he showered up and joined Billy and Zack while they changed into their street clothes. Gym was their last period class this semester so no one was in a particular rush to go home. The fact that it was Friday only added to the leisurely pace of the students present. Amid the laughter and banter of the other boys in the room, Zack stopped and pulled a flier off a nearby wall. He took a quick glance at it before flipping it to Jason, all while wearing his cheerful roguish grin. "Hey Jay, check it out."

Jason threw on a plain red t-shit and picked up the flier that Zack had pitched to him. He studied it curiously for a moment and saw that it was an advertisement for the school's annual Homecoming Festival and Dance. Jason raised an eyebrow, "What's all this about? You want to go to Homecoming or something?"

"Oh Jason, I thought you'd never ask," Zack replied swooning in a faux feminine voice while putting an arm around the Red Ranger. He began to laugh as Jason sighed and gave him an elbow to get him off.

"Oh ha ha. Very funny Zack," he sighed as he pushed the paper back to the Black Ranger, "Seriously though, you thinking about getting involved with all that stuff?"

Zack gave a thoughtful shrug and began to put his jeans on, "Maybe. I never had before, but I was thinking it might not be a bad thing, you know? It'd give me an excuse to get out, have some fun and maybe take my mind off my mom for just a night. She's been doing a little better lately so maybe she could manage without me for just one evening."

Nearby, Billy had been busy putting on deodorant and chimed in, "If you're going to go to the dance, you're probably going to need a date... and you've only got about a week left... the uh... pickings might be slim."

"I don't suppose you were thinking of trying to get Crazy Girl to go, were you?" Jason teased gently as he gave a little laugh and picked up his backpack.

"Hey! You're pretty funny too," Zack snorted sarcastically as he gave Jason a light punch in the arm, "You know, I could always just ask Kimberly. I heard she wasn't going with anyone yet."

Jason stopped abruptly and blinked in surprise. He actually found that a little hard to believe. Of all people at school he figured Kimberly would have a long line of potential dates lining up and throwing themselves at her. Zack laughed and clapped Jason's shoulder as he exited the lockers, "Don't sweat it Jay. You know I wouldn't actually do that to you. I'll catch ya round bro."

"Hey! What do you mean by that?" Jason sputtered, "Zack! Where are you... hey! Come back here!"

He turned to Billy who was finishing changing and the Blue Ranger simply titled his head, "Wait, he isn't suggesting that there's something going on between you and..."

"That's far enough Billy," Jason said raising a finger and hoping to silence him, "I'll catch you tomorrow morning at Detention, okay?"

Billy watched as Jason hurried off before sitting down and shaking his head, "Geez, I wonder what his deal is?"

* * *

It wasn't long before Jason made his way back into the main schoolhouse and pushed through a small crowd of departing students. While he navigated through the bustle and clamor of the mob, he thought about what Zack had said. After having become a disgraced football star, Jason hadn't been too keen on the idea of attending the Homecoming party this year. All the fanfare and pushing of school spirit seemed a bit much given the circumstances. Hell, in a small boring town like Angel Grove, Homecoming was big news and half the adults probably cared just as much as the local students did. But maybe the Black Ranger was also right about some things. Maybe it would be a good thing to take everyone's minds off the frightening events of Rita's monster attack not too long ago. The Rangers were people too and they deserved to blow off some steam and have a little fun.

Maybe going to confront his football team and other classmates at this school function could also help Jason move on to that newer better him that he was thinking about earlier. Of course, it was possible that the experience might be a little uncomfortable too, but no growth came without a little pain and discomfort, right? As Jason pushed through the rest of the crowd and turned down a side hallway, his mind drifted to what Zack had said about Kimberly.

Maybe he could use this as another opportunity to start fresh and new by putting a better foot forward and really impressing her. If he was really honest with himself, he had always been attracted to her. Ever since he had started football, he'd always try to catch fleeting glimpses of her on the sidelines with her fellow cheerleaders. Despite their positions in their high school's social hierarchy, they had still always seemed miles apart. As funny as it sounded coming from a jock like him, he had always been a little intimidated by her beauty and charisma. She had been a Queen Bee and gotten whoever and whatever she wanted, yet even then it never seemed like Jason ever really factored in to that equation, leaving him to always admire her from a distance.

Of course, all that seemed to change when she had joined their Detention gang and fell in with the other Power Rangers. It had given them a chance to talk, to spend time, and even get to know each other a little. As much as Jason enjoyed that little unexpected benefit of fate, he still couldn't be quite sure about where he and Kimberly seemed to stand with each other, especially after having defeated Rita now. Maybe it was a little crazy, but he hoped he could use this as a chance to get a better idea, and clear things up a bit between them. As he ambled down the thinning hallway, Jason caught sight of the Pink Ranger at her locker.

To his surprise, he also saw her with her two ex-best friends Amanda Clark and her sidekick Rebecca. He had known Amanda was once in Kimberly's clique and after the cyber-bullying incident, she and Kimberly had a bit of a hostile falling out. He paused and waited from a distance as he watched the two girls speaking to a scowling Kimberly. After they walked off, Kimberly slammed her locker shut and came down his direction in the hallway. The Red Ranger waited patiently until she neared before he slowly raised a hand in greeting, "Hey Kim... uh, is everything okay?"

She eyed him a moment and kept walking as he fell in beside her, "Oh sure. I'll bet you just saw I was having a nice little chat with my old friend Amanda."

Jason kept a cool neutral look on his face while walking with her, "Well, maybe we can all get our zords together and take care of the problem. We already bitch-slapped one evil witch into outer space, right?"

Kimberly's lip curled slightly and she gave a mild snort of amusement.

"See? That's a good sign," Jason said with a hopeful grin, "You're feeling a little better already. And while I'm at it, I thought I might suggest something else to cheer you up."

"Oh really? What's that?" she said with a curious expression.

Jason rubbed the back of his neck in slight nervousness, "Oh... well, Zack had showed me a Homecoming flier earlier and it got me to thinking... maybe we should go."

Kimberly stopped abruptly with a slight hint of incredulity, "We? As in you and I? Go to Homecoming... together?"

"Sure, why not?" Jason shrugged, "It could be fun... right?"

He was desperately trying to play it cool despite a growing feeling of dread that was bubbling up in the pit of his stomach. She blinked a few times before shaking her head to herself and continuing to walk, "I don't know... I'm not so sure that's a great idea Jason."

He frowned and hurried to catch up, "What? Why not?'

"Maybe I just wasn't planning to go at all this year, okay?" Kimberly said defensively

"Really? I thought you loved all the pep rallies and school spirit stuff," Jason said.

Kimberly gave a sigh of growing annoyance and rolled her eyes, "Well, things are different this year, all right? Look, I get what you're trying to do and I appreciate the gesture. It's sweet, but even if we did go, do you really think that's going to look good?"

"What are you talking about?"

Kimberly put her hands on her hips and turned to look him straight in the eye, "Think about it, a football star and head cheerleader both fallen from grace showing up in front of all those people?"

"Come on Kim, who cares what everybody else thinks?" Jason asked offhandedly.

Her features darkened as she fixed him with a look of irritation, "Well maybe I do."

Before he could say anything else, she turned and stormed off down the hallways then out the front doors of the school. Jason could only stand by himself in the middle of the empty hallway shaking his head with a mixture of shock, confusion, and humiliation all at once. It was at that moment, he wished he had known where Zack had run off to. If the Black Ranger hadn't put that stupid Homecoming idea in his head, Jason wouldn't have been ready to punch him in head again right there.

* * *

Meanwhile, across town a small blob of animated gold bubbled up from a crack in the sidewalk. Some of the enchanted primordial remains of Rita's monstrous servant Goldar had managed to survive and make its way around the town of Angel Grove. While it was nowhere near as powerful as its original beastly form, it still sought to cause destruction and misery wherever it could. As that gold had been a reflection of and means to channel Rita Repulsa's hate and malice, it continued on with its single minded purpose despite the absence of its mistress.

As the blob writhed on the pavement near a grassy walkway, it stopped when it sensed the presence of a human being approach. As the girl neared, the gold morphed into a beautifully crafted gold bracelet with a few stones that seemed to take the color and shape of small green gems in the sunlight. Moments later, a hand reached down as the young woman picked it up and studied it, "Oh... look at this. Where did you come from? Hey Rebecca, check this out!"

The girl glanced over to see her friend admiring the beautiful piece of jewelry she had found on their walk home from school, "Oh my God Amanda! I can't believe the luck you have. Do you think someone, like dropped it?"

"I don't see anyone around, do you?" Amanda sighed as she tried the bracelet on and admired it in the light. "Besides, finder keepers, right?"  
As she continued to stare at her golden bracelet, Amanda Clark could feel a warm feeling coming from within the bangle. Not only was she looking really good right now, but she was now feeling even better.

* * *

 **To Be Continued...**


	2. All that Glitters

The next day, the Rangers gathered together for another Saturday morning in the school's Detention Hall. While Billy sat sketching a drawing with his colored pencils, Jason sat nearby having some idle conversation with Zack. As the door opened again, Jason turned and stopped when he caught sight of Kimberly enter the room. He raised a hand in greeting and tried to give a friendly smile, "Hey Kim…"

She sighed and shook her head before walking right by. He blinked and slowly finished his cut-off sentence, "What's… up?"

Jason watched as she walked to the other end of the room and sat down. She tossed her bookbag and leather jacket on a desk and began to talk quietly with Trini. Zack watched the scene unfold before giving the Red Ranger a little poke in the shoulder. "Dude… what was that all about?"

"You think I know?" Jason muttered darkly, "She was in kind of a rotten mood yesterday afternoon too."

"Maybe it's that time of the month again?" Billy idly chimed in as he continued working on his picture.

His two other friends stared at him for a moment before Zack shook his head and dismissed the comment, "Hold up Jay. You saw her yesterday afternoon? You didn't actually take me seriously and float the idea of Homecoming by Kimberly… did you?"

The Red Ranger shifted uncomfortably, "Well…"

Thankfully Jason was spared from answering as the door opened and their Detention Hall monitor walked in. "All right, quiet down everyone. Take your seats. I know you don't want to be here today either so let's take attendance and get this over with already."

Jason slumped back down into his seat taking one more look toward Kimberly and Trini and then toward the clock on the wall. He had a feeling this was going to be one long morning.

* * *

Several quiet days passed and despite the bright sunlight outside, a late autumn chill still hung in the air as Kimberly Hart made her way outside of the local Starbucks café with a cup of pumpkin spice latte. After being around the high school all week, she just needed to get away from there and find a place to breathe. She had beaten a hasty retreat from the school and took a drive into town by herself. She had hoped a hot cup of coffee and a little fresh air would cheer her up, but it wasn't helping.

As she strolled the streets of the town toward Angel Grove's central park, she saw pumpkins and harvest decorations already being set up along with some Homecoming trappings in the windows of local stores. She gave a grumble at the sight of them and averted her eyes. Despite her best efforts to get away from it, it seemed the specter of Homecoming was still following her and mocking her, especailly because it was only a couple days away now. Upon reaching the park, she found a seat by herself on a park bench and glumly took a sip of her drink. As she watched a group of children play together, she kept replaying in her mind the encounter she had with Amanda Clark recently.

 _"Do us all a favor and don't show up to the Homecoming events next weekend Kimberly," Amanda had said while crossing her arms. She tilted her nose upwards with that trademark imperious smirk. Even when they were "friends" that smirk had always pissed Kimberly off. "You've already embarrassed yourself and the rest of the cheer squad enough. If you think you'll prove some point by going, you won't. No one trusts you or forgives you for what you did, even if they don't say it out loud. And you know what? Neither do I."_

That was when Kimberly slammed her locker door and walked off, only to run into Jason. At first she had been glad to see him, but he only seemed to make the problem worse by asking her out and she didn't know what to do about it. If she was really honest with herself, there was still that old part of her that wanted to go to the school festival and parties this coming weekend. She still wanted to be part of that in-crowd and missed that feeling of attention and validation. She knew it was stupid to think that way, but she couldn't help it either. The feeling of suddenly being ripped away from all that and having an anchor of guilt being hung around her neck was still painful.

Jason had been right in a previous conversation that just because Kimberly had screwed up didn't necessarily make her an irredeemably bad person, but it didn't excuse the fact that she had committed a terrible shameful act and she was still paying for it. She had hoped that becoming a Ranger would make her stronger as a person and it did, but it didn't quite erase the feelings of shame or the lingering fear of not being able to forgive herself or others.

Kimberly didn't want to deal with that drama anymore but saying she would move on and actually doing it were two completely different things. For now, it seemed best to just avoid the whole social mess and put a self imposed ban on herself from getting involved with Homecoming hoping that it would be an indirect way of doing penance. Still, it pissed her off that now a friend and a genuinely good guy like Jason was being indirectly hurt by it too. It didn't help that she wasn't quite sure what to feel about the Red Ranger either and maybe a part of her hoped that coming here alone today would give her a chance to sort out some of those confused swirling thoughts too. Did she like him as a friend? As more than a friend? If so, would she be able to trust him? Or would she even be able to trust herself and not hurt him, especially given all her personal life drama of late?

As Kimberly sat on the bench lost in her own thoughts, she didn't notice as someone approached from behind and tapped her on the shoulder, "Well… look at that. Kimberly's all alone. Just the way it should be."

The Pink Ranger scowled at the sound of the familiar voice and turned around slowly, "Amanda… what the hell are you doing here?"

Kimberly's former friend gave her trademark sneer and took a moment to admire her new gold bracelet in the sunlight, "I thought I'd go out and take a walk… I was even hoping I'd run into you."

Kimberly gave a derisive snort, "Why? Did you forget to say something else mean to me? Because I'm not in the mood to listen to it."

"Oh, I'm not here to talk," Amanda said as she gripped the bench and began to tug. To Kimberly's horror, the heavy bench began to give way from its grounded base, "You see, actions speak much louder than words."

With a tug of superhuman strength, Amanda pulled the bench from its fastenings and tossed it aside just as Kimberly fell over and rolled clear on the ground. The Pink Ranger eyed the girl with wide eyes, "Amanda… what's happening? What do you want from me?"

The Pink Ranger's classmate gave a bitter laugh as the golden bracelet began to change and manifest into something more malevolent. Kimberly watched as the jewelry expanded and formed a monstrous suit of golden armor around the girl. While Amanda was enveloped by the evil enchanted substance, Kimberly recognized that goo was the same stuff that had been used by Rita to form the monster Goldar. Whatever it was and however it survived, it didn't matter. It had taken over her classmate, but it still left Kimberly in a difficult position. Part of her knew that she should probably try to save Amanda, but there was also a darker more vindictive side of her that still wanted to lash out and hurt that girl and monster back too.

The Goldar symbiote continued to advance. It could sense the powerful primal feelings of anger and hate radiating off of Amanda toward this Kimberly girl in front of her, and it was great. In return for giving her inhuman strength and protection, Rita's gold had taken over the girl's mind and body as its new host and fed hungrily off of those negative feelings. It had learned of this Amanda girl's feelings of hatred and vengeance toward her classmate Kimberly and the gold wanted to push things ever further to get its fix.

Upon witnessing the appearance of another supernatural monster, the other civilians in the park took off running in a fearful panic leaving Kimberly to confront the Goldar symbiote alone. The Pink Ranger sucked in a breath and tensed up, steeling herself for a coming fight.

"This is your last chance Amanda. I'm warning you…"

The symbiote morphed one of its arms into a golden spiked mace and glared at her menacingly.

"All right, you asked for it. It's moprhin' time!" Kimberly answered with angry defiance as she pulled her pink power coin from her pocket.

To her surprise, the familiar cloud of pink energy swirled around her for a moment and began to form her Ranger suit before it flickered several times and gave out. Kimberly froze and stared at her coin in alarm as her suit and greater powers failed to materialize, "What? What is going on?"

She didn't have time to wonder as the Goldar symbiote brought its fearsome weapon arm around to try and land a crushing blow on the vulnerable Ranger. Before the mace could smash her, Kimberly sensed a swift rush of air and felt herself be carried to relative safety nearby. When she opened her eyes, she saw the familiar sight of the Red Ranger's helmet look down on her in concern, "Kimberly… are you okay?"

She blinked and shook her head in confusion as she watched the other morphed Power Rangers leap into battle and begin gang-rushing the monster. "Jason? I… I don't know. That thing… Amanda Clark is inside… at least, I think she is."

"Okay, just sit tight. We'll handle this," Jason said as he let go of Kimberly and turned to face the Goldar symbiote. The Ranger extended his arm and called forth a device around his wrist which ignited into a glowing blue energy blade. Jason charged forward making Billy tumble clear while Zack and Trini wrestled to restrain the gold goopy monster. The Goldar symbiote gave a furious snarl and shoved the Black and Yellow Rangers aside turning just in time to meet Jason's charge. The monster raised its golden mace arm just as Jason brought his pulsing energy sword around in a powerful swing. The force of the Red Ranger's slash shattered the weapon and threw back the symbiote in a cloud of searing heat. Small gobs and flecks of gold sprayed everywhere and burned away as the injured monster regained its footing and made its escape down an open manhole cover in the street.

"Whoah! What was that?" Trini exclaimed as she caught her breath, "Is that Goldar thing really back again?"

"Who cares? We should go after it! It's getting away," Zack protested but Jason halted him and waved him off.

"No… let it go for now. We've got to figure out what's going on here first."

Jason powered down his energy blade and turned to the Pink Ranger, "Kim, is everything okay? Why didn't you morph back there?"

She looked dumbly to her power coin and then back to her fellow Rangers as they gathered around in concern, "I couldn't… I couldn't morph."

"What? What do you mean you couldn't?" Jason asked in startled confusion.

"I said I couldn't! Okay?" she angrily shot back, "Something went wrong and I couldn't call my powers."

Jason frowned behind his visor and tilted his head, "Maybe we should go talk to Zordon."

"Maybe you guys should just leave me alone right now," Kimberly retorted as she pushed past them and began walking off. She had been feeling confused by her own personal issues along with the sudden violent confrontation with Amanda. Worst of all, she was even more ashamed of her sudden inability to morph just now. If she couldn't contribute to such an important fight alongside her teammates, she didn't really feel like facing up to them at the moment either... not like this anyway.

The Rangers powered down and stood in confusion before the others unconsciously turned toward Jason for direction. For a moment, he almost felt like a football quarterback again, calling plays from the huddle.

"What do you think Jason?" Trini prompted him with an expectant look.

He furrowed his brow and nodded to himself, "Trini, why don't you go try and talk to Kimberly... keep an eye on her. Zack, keep a lookout around town for any more traces of that Goldar thing. I'm going to go speak to Zordon. Billy, you're with me."

As the Rangers broke their improvised huddle, Jason could only hope that he was making the right call and that the team would have enough time to regroup against the monster and get into the game again. Right now, the ball was in his hands so it was his job to run with it.

* * *

Later that day, the Red and Blue Rangers returned to the stone quarry and made their way to the secret underground cave where Zordon's ship lay. After entering their base of operations, Alpha and Billy worked over the central viewing globe to gather data and images of the battle which had occurred earlier that day. They hoped it could give them more information about the return of Goldar or the strange condition affecting Kimberly. While they worked, Jason spoke to Zordon directly and related what he had observed from the battle.

"I don't understand any of this," the Red Ranger said to the face on the wall, "How could Goldar have survived that battle with Rita? She's been defeated for good... hasn't she?"

"Even if she really is gone, you should not underestimate the reach of her sorcery," Zordon answered, "Goldar is a reflection of her hatred and malice, and that force had apparently sustained her life up until your last battle with her."

"Then why did Kimberly say she was unable to morph?" Jason asked, "I thought we had already unlocked our powers from that Morphing Grid when we became a team."

Zordon gave a pensive look and his image rippled, "Do you know of anything that may be affecting her? Perhaps on a deep personal level?"

Jason hesitated as he recalled his brief run in with her a few days ago. He knew something was wrong, but he wasn't quite certain what that was exactly. He wasn't too sure about raising any additional teenage romance drama with the ancient alien head either so he decided to answer carefully, "I'm beginning to think so... but what does that have to do with anything?"

Zordon's image rippled again, "Unlocking the full potential of your coins is more than just being a team. To be a Ranger and to use your powers wisely for the forces of good, you must be in the right mindset. You must have a virtuous motive. To carry it out with your powers, you must find balance in heart, body, and mind. If something is causing Kimberly to lose her will and balance at such a fundamental level, then she must overcome it before her powers will work to their fullest potential again."

Jason nodded gravely, "She claimed that Goldar was working with one of her enemies... a girl named Amanda. There might be something to that, unless it's just Rita's dark magic playing tricks again."

He turned and checked up on his friend's progress, "Have you found anything helpful in that magic eight ball there Billy? You seem to be the only one who can make out anything within it."

"I can see some fuzzy images of Goldar forming," he said, "And it did take on a more feminine shape before attacking. Then again, the thing is sentient so it could just be taunting Kimberly too. It's hard to tell."

Jason crossed his arms, "All right then. Until we learn more, we'll keep an eye out for trouble and a closer eye on Amanda at school. If she's somehow being controlled by Goldar, then we have to figure out a way to stop her... especially if she's gunning for Kim."

As the two boys turned to leave the central command room of the ship, Alpha turned to Zordon and threw up his hands with a dismayed sigh, "Ai yai yai... Goldar's really done it this time. This whole situation has massive cat-fight written all over it."

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **The movie was a little vague about the in-universe nature of what exactly allows a Ranger to morph, so I'm taking some creative liberties with it here. While the "teamwork" aspect was certainly important, I think something can also be said for having one's mind and heart being in balance too.  
**


	3. Heart to Hart

A slight rumble of thunder was heard as the steady pitter patter of rain fell outside. As the dark gray rain clouds hung over Angel Grove, Jason sat by himself at a small corner table of an old coffee house that had been converted into a brand new Krispy Kreme. The place was surprisingly quiet that afternoon and the Red Ranger sat watching the storm while an untouched donut lay in front of him. He had been lost in thought going over the recent situation in his mind. He weighed the input from Zordon along with the potential threat of Goldar and the possibility that one of their other classmates might now be in danger.

Still, at the center of it all, he couldn't help but think about Kimberly and worry about her. Of course having a power crisis was a big thing, but there had to have been more to it. He wanted to see her and get to the bottom of it. He couldn't be sure if these strong feelings of concern were coming from his responsibility as de facto team leader or from his own personal feelings, but it didn't matter at the moment. What mattered was that the Rangers had to be proactive to tackle this new situation and he was going to do just that… with a little bit of help first.

Finally, the shop door opened and Jason looked over to see Trini enter. The Yellow Ranger shook off some rain from her coat and ambled over to his table. She slid into the booth across from him and gave a sigh, "Well, I made it. I've gotta say, you picked a crummy day to have a meeting Jason."

He gave a small apologetic smile, "Sorry Trini. Thanks for coming. You want a donut?"

He slid the pastry over to her and she quirked an eyebrow in amusement, "Are you bribing me here?"

"If it makes you more willing to talk… then yes," he replied meeting her smirk with one of his own.

Trini snorted out a laugh and picked up the donut. She took a bite and fixed him with a cool smile, "I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. What did you want to talk about?"

"I was hoping you could tell me what's going on with Kimberly right now," Jason said folding his hands together, "Something's been really bothering her. I figured maybe you talked to her a little after the whole Goldar incident? Or maybe she mentioned something to you in passing?"

"What makes you think she'd tell me anything?" Trini asked while taking another bite.

"Well, I don't know... maybe because you're both girls and you seem to get along?" Jason shrugged weakly.

Trini looked to him with her mischievous smirk, "Oh we are friends... but I don't think we're close enough yet to be having sleepovers to do each other's hair and talk about boys we like... or girls as the case may be."

"Trini..." Jason prompted her patiently.

She sighed and kicked her feet up as another gentle rumble of thunder was heard, "All right, no. She hasn't said much to me either. I figured if you were so concerned about her, you'd ask her yourself. She's always struck me as being a little more receptive to what you have to say."

"Yeah... well, I'm not so sure she's too keen on talking with me right now," Jason replied. He told Trini about his discussion with Zordon and finished with a sigh, "I can't help but worry a little that maybe I'm partially to blame for whatever is upsetting Kimberly. God, I'm kinda regretting asking her out to that stupid Homecoming Dance now."

Trini stifled a laugh, "You asked her to that dance huh? I knew something was up between you two."

Jason narrowed his eyes, "Trini..."

She raised her hands apologetically before settling in to her seat again, "All right... will you at least tell me what happened between you two then?"

Jason related his own story and waited patiently as Trini mulled over the information for herself, "Well... what do you think?"

"I think you need to get over yourself," Trini said as she finished off the donut and licked her fingers. "You actually think you're responsible for this whole mess?"

Jason frowned and crossed his arms in mild annoyance, "All right smart girl, then you tell me. What's the problem and what am I supposed to do about it?"

Trini gave a sigh and rolled her eyes before glancing back at the rainstorm outside, "If I had to guess, I'd say Kimberly actually cares more about all this Homecoming business than she's letting on. Girls like her are all about that stuff and I'm sure deep down she'd really like to go."

"But I asked her to go," Jason insisted, "And she said she didn't want to."

"What girls say and what they actually mean are often two completely different things Jason," the Yellow Ranger explained while raising a finger academically.

"Yeah... I'm kinda seeing that," he mumbled in dismay.

Trini reclined gently in her seat, "Given her circumstances, she probably misses parts of her old life but doesn't want to deal with all the crap from those people she pissed off now. I'm sure she's confused about a lot of things and now that she may have to fight Goldar through Amanda... can you really blame her for being afraid of all that? I'm sure having to deal with this monster is only a reminder of everything she did wrong in the first place, because it's one she created herself."

"All the more reason why I have to help her then," Jason said in a level tone, "I also kinda know what it's like to fall from grace and to have to pick up the pieces again. The only way you're going to overcome the problem is to confront it head on. I had hoped that maybe if I went to Homecoming with Kimberly, she wouldn't feel so bad and we could work to get past all that stupid stuff we're dealing with... together."

"She's not you Jason," Trini observed, "And she might not think the same way about it... but I'm sure she'd appreciate knowing she had someone on her side about this."

The Red Ranger nodded and began to rise from the table, "Yeah... you're right Trini. Thanks again."

As he moved for the door, he stopped and turned back to her as an afterthought, "You know... girls can be hard to figure out."

Trini could only shrug and reply with her own playful wink, "Trust me, you don't know the half of it."

* * *

To none of the Rangers' surprise, Amanda did not show up to school the next day. While none of the other students or people around town actually witnessed her monstrous transformation, no one's suspicions had been raised yet either. Despite her absence, few people at school seemed to pay much attention given the excitement of the Homecoming Dance and parties that were going to take place later that day. The rains had passed and the rest of the weekend was supposed to be pleasant weather for the football game and going out. The Rangers all maintained a guarded silence among each other during the school day and decided to go on patrols in case Goldar showed up again. None of them had opted to participate in the school activities and went to work after their early Friday dismissal.

That evening, a dull red and pink hue hung in the horizon as the last dying light of the setting sun clung to the skies over Angel Grove. As twilight set in, the warm glow of a large campfire crackled in the makeshift fire pit as Kimberly sat on a log bench looking out over the lights of the town below. For the time being, Zack had offered his campsite and abandoned little shelter by the quarry for Kimberly to stay in. He had been a little bummed about not getting the night off to party, but he knew that it was time to be serious right now. The idea of staying at the campsite was also fine by Kimberly as it was located just off the hiking trails that she often took to get back home. She had told her parents that she was staying over at Trini's house for a night or two to avoid any further suspicion.

Right now, it was probably for the best that she stayed away from home with Goldar-Amanda still on the loose. If that monster wanted to come after her, then at least her family would not be put in any immediate danger. The fact that it was also the evening of the Homecoming Dance was an added bonus too. As long as Kimberly was holed up here, she could avoid all that mess and get some quiet time to be alone. She hoped she could take the opportunity to think more about what happened in the prior battle. For her, things just seemed to keep getting worse and she was no closer to figuring out what to do about it either. While the warm fire crackled and warded off the chill of the evening air, Kimberly pulled over a small storage chest containing some canned food and water bottles that she could use for dinner. As she rummaged through the contents, she wondered if Zack had stashed away any more bottles of beer that the Rangers had shared on their first night on the mountaintop.

The shuffling of footsteps suddenly came from the darkness causing Kimberly to stop and turn quickly. To her relief, she saw the Red Ranger approach from the hiking trails.

"Jason… you startled me," she said with a confused frown as he walked into the little campground.

Jason shrugged and shifted the weight his backpack that he carried behind him, "Nice to see you too. Mind if I sit down?"

"What are you doing here?" Kimberly asked as she watched him carefully.

Jason sat down near her on the log bench and dug into his red backpack, "I thought I'd bring you some extra camping supplies and another blanket. I heard Billy was going to come by and check in on you, but I volunteered to take his place instead."

"You didn't have to do that for me," she sighed, "I can manage just fine on my own."

"Really? I'm not so convinced right now."

Kimberly narrowed her eyes in mild annoyance, "Thank you for coming by Jason. Now can you please just let me be tonight?"

He shook his head, "Come on Kim. Drop the tough girl act already. You're not fooling anyone."

The two stared each other down before Jason gave a pleading huff, "Come on. Just talk to me here, will ya?"

She watched as he dug into his bag and offered her some granola bars and water. She took the offering before relenting with a deep sigh.

Are you angry with me?" he prompted her after a few moments of silence.

She looked into the fires and shook her head while eating, "No… I… I've just been more angry at myself lately."

"Thinking about that whole thing with Goldar and Amanda, huh?" he asked.

Kimberly idly ran her fingers through her hair in thought, "Kinda, I guess. I can't help but think that this is all my fault… that I created this monster… for Amanda, and for myself."

"It's not your fault…"

"Isn't it?" she retorted quickly, "I let my angry feelings get the better of me. If I hadn't sent that stupid picture in the first place… if I hadn't torched my bridges with Amanda and the cheer squad and everyone else at school, this wouldn't be a problem right now."

"You don't know that for sure," Jason said gently but Kimberly shook her head.

"I wouldn't still be paying for that one mistake that ruined everything and be reminded of it when we face Goldar now."

"Look at it this way… if you hadn't screwed up, then you might not have met us and become a Ranger either," Jason replied as he pulled out some marshmallows and put them on a stick for cooking.

"Some Ranger I am," she snorted, "I can't even morph now so what good am I to you guys?"

The Red Ranger chewed his lip, "Zordon said this was all probably because you're out of balance… in your mind and in your heart. He said the powers work better when your intentions are clear and good."

"Well, then I guess my power coin knew what a shitty person I was being… how much I wanted to hurt Amanda back for all the mean things she's said and done to me. What do you think I should do Jason?"

He sat cooking his marshmallows in thoughtful silence before turning to look at her, "I think you should get over yourself."

"Excuse me?" she said with a sharp defensive tone.

"You heard me. Get over yourself," Jason said taking a cue from his talk with Trini, "Let all that past bullshit go. Accept that it happened and just try to move on and do better. There's no point in dwelling about it and making yourself miserable."

"Just like that?" she challenged him, "Is that what you're doing right now? You had a similar experience to me… being a somebody and then just losing all of it in a flash… only to have everyone give you the stink eye now."

"I'm not going to pretend that it doesn't still suck," Jason said with a serious frown, "But I'm trying to move on and be better the only way I know how. Being a Ranger now is putting that into perspective for me and giving me the courage to just confront all that head on. I was hoping I could help you confront those issues too… that we could both help each other."

She looked to him in surprise and her expression softened while he continued, "Listen Kimberly, I'm your friend and I… well… I care about you. You don't have to deal with all this stuff by yourself anymore and I wanted to remind you of that."

Kimberly fell silent and thought over his words. "I'm guessing that's why you asked me out to the Homecoming stuff, wasn't it?"

Jason glanced over and caught her studying him, "Well… partially, yeah."

He offered her a cooked marshmallow and she took it gingerly before softening her expression some more, "You know… to be honest, a big part of me actually did still want to go to the dance and the parties tonight."

"Oh? You don't say…" Jason replied while trying to sound neutral and disinterested.

"I also didn't want to have to turn you down when you asked last Friday either."

He stopped and looked at her as she leaned back with a thoughtful sigh, "I thought that maybe if I didn't go and punished myself, I'd be working to make some kind of amends for my mistake. Amanda made me worry that if I did go to Homecoming, even with you… that I'd still be feeling self conscious and I'd still have to put up with a lot of crap with everyone there… so I'm sorry for having been kinda cold around you lately."

"Well look on the bright side, I guess this isn't such a bad way to spend Homecoming evening instead… right?" Jason smiled while trying to sound positive and reassuring.

Kimberly nibbled at her marshmallow before fixing him with a curious look, "Jason… why are you still being so nice to me?"

"Because you're my friend," he answered quickly.

She kept her expectant look on him making him squirm evasively, "Try again."

"Because I didn't want you to keep thinking that you were a bad person," he replied off handedly.

"Anything else?" she prompted him with a knowing smirk.

Jason paused for a moment and began to speak but she stopped him, "Jason… it's okay. It's kinda obvious."

"What is?"

She glared at him for a moment before shaking her head with a gentle smile, "I've seen the way you look at me. I've noticed it… ever since we were underclassmen."

"That's funny," Jason muttered sheepishly as he reached down and put another log on the fire, "And here I always thought you didn't even know who I was."

"I didn't," Kimberly admitted gently as she scooted closer on their makeshift bench and put a soft hand on his, "I mean… I guess I didn't really bother trying to know until just recently."

"Kim…"

She cut him off again, "Jason, wait. I know that there's this… well, weird thing going on between us right now and I kinda wanted to talk about it with you, but there just hasn't been a really good time to do that."

Jason looked her in the eyes and shifted his hand to twine a couple of his fingers through hers, "Well… I guess now's as good a time as any."

A slight shadow of worry crossed her features, "Okay. Well, the thing is…"

A twig snapped nearby causing both Rangers to stop abruptly and turn in the direction of the noise. To their horror, a familiar voice called out from the dark as it approached, "No, please go on. I think it was sweet and things were just getting interesting."

Jason and Kimberly parted and sprung to their feet as the light of the campfire revealed the approaching form of Amanda Clark. The young woman wore a sinister smile and rubbed her golden bracelet menacingly. Kimberly narrowed her eyes and growled, "What do you want Goldar?"

Amanda smirked again as the bracelet activated and covered her in a liquid suit of golden armor, "Isn't it obvious? I'm here to finish what we started."

The monster morphed the end of its arm into a new battleaxe-like weapon and took a step forward. Jason immediately intervened and put himself between the Pink Ranger and the monster. "Get outta here Kim! Get to safety. I'll protect you."

"I'm not going to leave you! You can't do this all by yourself!" she insisted to her friend as she picked up a heavy stick from the ground, "I've got to help somehow!"

"If you can't morph then you might get hurt," Jason argued quickly as he pulled his power coin, "I'm not going to let that happen!"

He turned to face the Goldar symbiote and called his powers in a flash of red light. As the morphed Red Ranger summoned his own energy sword and activated it, Kimberly stepped back with a fearful expression, "Jason…"

He didn't get a chance to respond as the monster charged forward and brought its weapon arm around for a deadly slash.

* * *

 **To Be Concluded...**


	4. Daydream Believer and a Homecoming Queen

A shower of sparks flew as Goldar's axe collided with Jason's sword. The Red Ranger shifted his weight and deflected the monster's attack aside. As the two combatants locked weapons again, Kimberly rushed forward to help. Although she couldn't morph, she hoped her already enhanced strength and speed could make some sort of difference. She gripped the heavy tree branch in her hand and brought it around with a great swing. The blow smashed into the Goldar symbiote's shoulder and shattered into splinters. The monster grunted as it was momentarily staggered, but no major harm was done either. Goldar lashed out with its free arm and backhanded Kimberly aside, knocking her to the dirt as Jason attacked again in fury.

While the Red Ranger clashed against Goldar and pushed back, Kimberly rose to her knees and tried to shake off the stunning blow. In the flickering light of the campfire and the darkness around her, the Pink Ranger tried to orient herself amid the chaotic duel that was raging around her. As her head cleared, she saw Goldar knock Jason's energy sword away and then move to charge her again. Despite having been disarmed, Jason threw himself forward to stop Goldar with a football style tackle. The two wrestled around on the ground and struggled for a minute before Goldar got a hand free and grabbed Jason's neck. As the monster began pinning the Red Ranger to the dirt, it raised its weapon hand and moved to strike but Jason reached out and caught Goldar's arm just in time. Kimberly could only watch in helpless fear as Jason desperately struggled on the ground to keep Goldar's blade arm from coming down on his head.

She pulled her inert power coin from her pocket and gripped it, praying something would happen. Despite the situation, she knew she had to do something. Jason was in danger and she needed to help him. He had reached out and offered to help her and to be there for her and she hated the idea that she couldn't do anything for him in return. She didn't want him to get hurt, but she also didn't want to hurt Amanda who had been corrupted by the Goldar monster.

As she continued to grip her coin, Kimberly watched in surprise as it began to glow a faint pink color. Maybe Jason was right. Maybe she needed to get over herself and confront these problems head on. She didn't want to be miserable anymore and she didn't want to be scared of Amanda, or anyone at school any more. She was a Ranger now and whether or not she wanted to, she had to move on. People's lives and the lives of her teammates depended on her to do the right thing. In that moment, she decided she would face her monster and do the right thing.

Kimberly charged forward as fast as she could and used her momentum to launch herself into the air. As the Goldar symbiote continued to struggle, it turned and looked just in time to see Kimberly's coin flare with radiant pink energy. In mid-stride, Kimberly's Ranger suit formed around her and empowered her attack as she leapt high and delivered a powerful flying jump-kick against her foe. Goldar roared as it was sent flying backwards several yards and rolled to a stop.

From where he lay on the ground, Jason watched in surprise as the morphed Pink Ranger stood before him in his defense. "Kim… you did it! You morphed again!"

She turned her head slightly to make sure he was okay before turning back to face the enemy, "It's my turn to protect you Jason. I know what I have to do now."

"You'll pay for that!" Goldar snarled in a distorted version of Amanda's voice as it rushed forward and brandished its bladed battle axe arm.

The Pink Ranger moved like lightning and used her superhuman agility to dodge and weave past the monster's clumsy slashes. As she circled around, her patience paid off when Goldar overreached and let its guard down after an attack. Kimberly swept in low and spun into a roundhouse kick to knock the monster back again and stun it. While the Goldar symbiote staggered back, Kimberly rushed forward and cartwheeled into a flying handspring off her enemy's head so that she landed across the battlefield to where Jason's energy sword lay on the ground.

She swiftly scooped up the sword and activated it, just as the Goldar symbiote recovered and attacked again. The Pink Ranger locked weapons again with her foe and struggled as Goldar used its greater strength to push back against her. While she looked about desperately, Kimberly noticed that the outline of the gold bracelet was still visible on the feminine monster's wrist. In one last push, Kimberly parried the axe aside and turned Jason's sword inward for a close slash at her enemy's wrist.

Her blade struck true and the energy sword slashed into the monster's bracelet, shattering it into a cloud of golden flakes and droplets. The symbiote gave a pained roar of fury as it recoiled and began to lose cohesion around the body of Amanda. Kimberly stood in shock and confusion as the unstable golden goo began to slough of Amanda and burn away into nothingness. Once the Goldar symbiote had dissolved completely, Amanda Clark was left in its place and she collapsed to the ground in a dazed heap.

Jason immediately rushed to Kimberly's side and looked to her in concern, "Kim, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she nodded as she and Jason powered down and hurried over to check on their fallen classmate.

Despite all the negative things that had happened between her and Amanda, Kimberly didn't seem to care at the moment. What mattered was that she was doing what was right as a Power Ranger and making sure an innocent victim was safe. She rolled her classmate over and propped Amanda's head up while checking her pulse and breathing. So far so good. In the dancing light of the campfire nearby, Amanda blinked her eyes in bleary confusion and tried to focus them on Kimberly. "Kimberly? I... what's going on? Where are we?"

The Pink Ranger glanced to Jason before looking down at her classmate again, "Amanda, are you feeling okay? Do you remember anything that happened?"

The girl frowned and struggled to stay conscious before giving a disoriented yawn, "I don't remember anything... I'm just really sleepy and I..."

Her head lolled back and she passed out from exhaustion. Kimberly looked down at her classmate and gave a sigh of relief before sitting back to take a breath herself. She felt Jason reach over and put a hand on her shoulder, "Kimberly, we should probably go and get Amanda to a hospital or something... just in case. We can take my truck. It's not far from the campground."

Kimberly nodded before he gave her shoulder a little squeeze and smiled, "Thank you for saving me Kim... it's good to have you back."

She returned the quiet smile as he got up and hurried off to get his truck. While he did, she went to get a blanket from her pack and place it over the sleeping form of Amanda. After she did, she sat back observing the girl whom she had once been at odds with. Sure there were still some hard feelings, but that didn't seem to matter so much anymore. If anything, Kimberly felt more pity at the moment... pity that Amanda had been briefly taken over by that Goldar monster. Maybe Kimberly wanted to hurt her once, but after thinking about how frightening and traumatic the girl's experience with Goldar must have been, she figured her enemy had suffered enough. It made her hopeful that if Kimberly could start burying those feelings of shame and anger... maybe in time her "enemy" could too.

* * *

Later that evening, Jason and Kimberly emerged from the emergency room of Angel Grove's Central Hospital. After driving back into town, they had taken Amanda there and told the doctors that they found her passed out in the park. Thankfully they weren't asked too many questions and they stuck to their good Samaritan story. In a way, it was partially true and with no other witnesses, it's not like they could really be accused of lying either. In the midst of all the chaos of the past few days, the two tired Rangers decided to go find a safe place to relax and decompress. They decided on driving a short way and getting some coffee at a late night café near an outdoor shopping plaza. The night was cool and the two needed something to wake up after their exhausting fight.

As Jason and Kimberly sat down on a bench just outside the little café, they could see activity going on in the little plaza. From the looks of it, a fair crowd of local adults had decided to celebrate the town's Homecoming in their own way. Colorful lights and decorations had been strung up while a few food vendors stayed open late and a volunteer cover band played some music so that people could do a little dancing if they wanted.

"Well... I'm glad all that is finally over with," Kimberly sighed as she warmed her hands with her coffee cup. "Not only with Amanda, but with getting my powers back too. Jason, I wanted to thank you... for what you said earlier tonight, and for just being there for me. It really meant a lot."

He took a sip of coffee and smiled quietly before shrugging it off, "Don't mention it. I'm just glad I could help. If anything, I should be the one thanking you for the little save back there. Seeing you step up and take on Goldar like that... well, it was pretty amazing."

"It was... wasn't it?" she replied with a self-satisfied grin. She glanced over and gave a sly little wink, "Come to think of it, I imagine it must have looked pretty hot too, huh?"

Jason snorted in amusement, "Sure. Okay... let's go with that."

As the cover band continued to play, the two Rangers watched the people dance before Jason took a breath and glanced over, "Kimberly, back at the campsite you were going to start telling me something... about us."

"Right," she said shifting slightly in her seat. Now it was her turn to feel a little off balance, "I uh... I just wanted to say that I cared about you too... as a friend and as a Ranger."

"I sense a 'but' coming," Jason said as he studied her face.

Kimberly bit her lip, "But I'm just not sure about this thing between us right now. I know you like me and I guess in a way I feel kinda attracted to you too, but these feelings... well, they're confusing."

"What do you mean?' he asked with a concerned frown.

"I mean I just don't know if these feelings on my part are real, you know? Since we became Rangers, a lot has happened and it's all been so fast. I'm just not sure if these feelings I have right now are because of our recent shared experiences, or because of the adrenaline rush from battle, or if there really is something there between us. I don't want to act on them just yet, especially if they're not real. Does that make any sense?"

Jason grimaced slightly. Those weren't exactly the words he was hoping to hear, but he could understand. Kimberly had been through a lot already and she probably needed time to sort everything out for herself. If time was what she needed right now, then he'd give it to her. She was worth the wait.

"Actually... yeah," he said with a stoic nod, "I understand... and it's okay Kim. I won't be going anywhere."

She gave him an apologetic look and reached out to squeeze his hand, "Thank you Jason. I'm really sorry about everything... you must think I'm a total bitch right now, huh?"

"Well... I don't plan on having any existential crises and losing my will to morph over this," he teased gently with a sigh. He hoped he could try to lighten the mood and deflect away some of the sting of his own disappointment.

Kimberly stared at him for a moment before giving an amused huff and gently shoving him in the shoulder. A companionable silence fell between them as they watched the other people in the plaza mill about while the cover band began its new set. The Pink Ranger glanced at her watch, "It's ten o clock. The Homecoming Dance should be getting out at school right now. I guess we missed it, huh?"

Jason thought for a moment before rising to his feet and holding out his hand to her, "Not necessarily."

She raised an eyebrow, "Jason... what are you doing?"

"Just put down your coffee and come with me," he said while taking her hand and gently pulling her to her feet.

Kimberly did as he said and followed him out into the plaza, mixing in with some of the other dancers as the cover band sat back and let their lead guitarist perform a rendition of Daydream Believer on his acoustic guitar. The tune took on a quieter slower tempo, but still had a gentle easy bounce to it. Jason looked to Kimberly and gave an apologetic smile, "I know how much you really wanted to go tonight, and it's the best I can do. If you don't mind being a little sappy, I thought we could still try to get in at least one little dance here. What do you say?"

She gave a gentle laugh and nodded while drawing near. He put his arm around her waist and held her close while they began to dance. Sure, it was a little sappy dancing to an oldies song especially around a bunch of other adults there, but that didn't seem to matter right now. It had been a sweet gesture by Jason and admittedly a bit romantic too. She didn't want to rush to any conclusions, but it did help make a case for those "confusing feelings" being genuine ones.

The two friends exchanged a quick smile before Kimberly settled in and rested her cheek against his shoulder. For now, it just felt good to be near someone, to feel safe and cared for. Wasn't that what they were both kind of looking for? After having become outcasts from their old circles at school, maybe they were seeking redemption in a way, but maybe they were just looking for someone else who would understand and care too.

While the two continued to slow dance with each other amid the evening lights and gentle music, Kimberly thought over Jason's words about letting go of the past and confronting the future. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all. She had a new group of friends to help her on her way and when she thought about it, the idea of starting over a new life didn't seem so scary anymore. If this was the way Kimberly was going to start things fresh and new, then she was looking forward to whatever the future held in store, as long as the other Rangers, and Jason would be at her side.

* * *

 **A/N:**  
 **Thanks again to everyone for reading, following, or reviewing! If anyone has questions, comments, or if you just want to tell me what you thought of this little short story, feel free to sound off! I'm all ears. Until then, let's cross our fingers we get a sequel movie to build on all this great stuff!**


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